LOT 031

AUTO CAS QMG RCA
1905 - 1960
Canadian

Ecclétusyane vermutale ou Gyroscope à électrocuter l'heure de chair
oil on canvas
signed and dated 1949 and on verso stamped Paul-Émile Borduas, Saint-Hilaire, Qué. on the remnants of a label
15 x 12 in, 38.1 x 30.5 cm

Estimate: $50,000 - $70,000 CAD

Sold for: $58,250

Preview at:

PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Montreal

LITERATURE
Paul-Émile Borduas, Projections libérantes, 1949, page 3
Adrien Robitaille, "Les expositions. Cette fois le pire est bien atteint!," Le Devoir, Montreal, May 21, 1949, page 10
Charles Doyon, "Borduas 49," Le Clairon (Saint-Hyacinthe), May 27, 1949
François-Marc Gagnon, Paul-Émile Borduas (1905 – 1960): Biographie critique et analyse de l'oeuvre, 1978, mentioned pages 257 and 531
François-Marc Gagnon, Paul-Émile Borduas, catalogue d'exposition, Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, 1988, page 135

EXHIBITED
Guy and Jacques Viau Studio, Montreal, Peinture surrationnelle: Borduas, May 14 - 26, 1949, catalogue #9
L'atelier de Borduas, Saint-Hilaire, Exposition surprise, June 2 - 4, 1951, titled as Gyroscope intérieur, catalogue #4
Édifice Snowdon, Montreal, Art Exhibit of 20 Distinguished Montreal Artists (organized by the Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association), December 10 - 25, 1951
Foyers La Palme et Beauchemin de la Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier de la Place des Arts, Montreal, Paul-Émile Borduas (organized by Les Éditions Flammarion and the Régie de la Place des Arts), February 22 – March 27, 1952
Les expositions Flammarion de la Place des Arts, Montreal, February 22 - March 27, 1977
Foyer de l'art et du livre, Ottawa, Exposition de tableaux et d'encres, October 10 - 20, 1977, titled as Gyroscope, catalogue #19


Dated 1949, this exquisite oil on canvas was executed during a pivotal moment of Paul-Émile Borduas’s career. The publication of the Refus global manifesto in 1948, of which he was the principal author, generated a flood of reactions in Quebec, so much so that Borduas was dismissed from his teaching position at l’École du meuble. This allowed him to dedicate himself entirely to the Automatist movement. He returned to painting in spring of 1949, stating that now he was “At last, free to paint!” This new-found freedom proved to be quite fruitful, as Borduas created 18 works that were shown in the studio of brothers Guy and Jacques Viau in May of that year, including Ecclétusyane vermutale ou Gyroscope à électrocuter l'heure de chair. Within this vertical format, Borduas arranges a complex structure of stacked brown, green, ochre, terra cotta, black and blush shapes in the upper centre. Below, expressive touches of terra cotta, beige and brown push forward, imbuing the surface with a certain restlessness. The lavishly painted surface displays the full range of the artist’s brushwork and an acute sense of movement and rhythm.

This work is included in François-Marc Gagnon’s online catalogue raisonné of the artist’s work at http://www.borduas.concordia.ca, #2005-0321.


Estimate: $50,000 - $70,000 CAD

All prices are in Canadian Dollars


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